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DMDK, PMK set to lose their party symbol

Chennai: Among the many startling fallouts of the Lok Sabha polls in TN which include an overwhelmingly one-sided mandate, two prominent parties in the state including DMDK and PMK are all set to lose their party symbols as they failed to garner the mandatory vote percentage necessary.

According to the Election Commission, any party that fails to get at least six per cent of the total votes polled gets to lose its party symbol and the DMDK with just 5.13 per cent votes and the PMK with 4.45 per cent will lose their traditional murasu and mango symbols respectively.

Of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in which DMDK had contested as an NDA ally, the party lost deposit in 10 of the constituencies and could not even win a single seat.

The total votes polled in favour of that party totals up to 20,79,392 while the minimum votes required for a party to reach the six percent mark is 24,33,297 votes.

DMDK party officials said that they would be discussing about the party losing its symbol for the coming elections and how to go about it in the coming future. Commenting on the situation, DMDK party whip V.C. Chandrakumar said, “We have not yet received any notification about the party losing its symbol. We will take appropriate action when we are informed about any such development.”

In the case of PMK, a party whose vote bank is largely from the Vanniyar community, total votes obtained during the elections is just 18,04,812 out of a total electorate of 4,05,54,957. Although the party’s charismatic leader and former Union minister Anbumani Ramadoss won from the Dharmapuri constituency thus securing a representation in the Lok Sabha, PMK will have to give up its party symbol, the mango.

Some of the other NDA alliance partners who will lose their symbols include the MDMK and the VCK, according to EC officials.